Durability: Long term durability tests are often difficult for us to perform simply due to the volume of products we see each and every year. This holds especially true if it’s a product we’ve tried and are super excited about because we can’t wait to write it up and get the word out to all of you. In the case of the Deep Six, however, because the bait is so good at deflecting off submerged structure, one of our favorite ways to fish it was to throw it up shallow and grind it on back out to deeper water.

In the same order from left to right, a comparison of each bait's stock hooks. Deep diving crankbait enthusiasts would replace the stock hooks on all these baits.

Treated in this manner, naturally, a bait is going to age a little more quickly than one might expect, but it was a great way for us to see just how much abuse the Deep Six can withstand. Our conclusion? This bait can take a lot of abuse. The bait’s diving bill does an excellent job of absorbing all of the punishment and protecting the body of the bait. Of course, all bets are off when a fish strikes the bait!

The results after two days of tossing one of our test baits up shallow and grinding it along the bottom back out to the boat.

The hooks on our Deep Six baits were typical thin wire JDM hooks. They’re #2 sized hooks and are easy to swap out with your favorite replacement brand. Even the hooks on our Lucky Craft D-20 and Norman DD22 baits leave a little to be desired, but if you’re fishing these baits on ten and twelve pound test mono, there’s a lot of room for leeway with the hooks as long as you’re not trying to horse your fish back to the boat. The stock hooks on our baits held up fine.

Yuskei manages a 6.5 pounder off a deep rockpile.

Colors & Availability: Megabass’s Deep Six crank has actually been out for quite some time and is now easily found in stores like
Hi’s Tackle Box. There are currently only six colors available but Mr. Murayama, Vice President of Megabass of America, assures us there are several more in the works.

Kenichi landed this 9 pounder at a popular cranking spot on Clear Lake with four or five other boats all fishing the same spot.

Ratings:

Megabass Deep Six Crankbait
Ratings
(?/10)

Construction/Quality

Save for the little cosmetic oddity on the bill, these baits are typical high quality from Megabass

8

Performance

Dives down without wearing you out and runs reasonably deep on long casts

8

Price

Megabass is rarely going to do well in this category. Bottom line is this is a $20 plus crankbait where the leaders in our deep crank shootout from several years ago, the Norman DD22 and Lucky Craft D-20 are $5.99 and $15.99 respectively.

4

Features

The three position moving balancer system is intriguing but the stock hooks are awfully thin

7.5

Design
(Ergonomics)

We're anxious to see the expanded color
palette but for now it's a good selection of options, not great

- Most won't be able to stomach the price tag - but for those anglers looking for an edge, this could be a good thing

+ Three position balancing system is intriguing

- Stouter stock hooks would be nice

Conclusion: Lifecycles for product reviews here on TackleTour.com vary from several weeks to several months to often times over a year. It's a matter of getting on the right bite with the right tackle so we can get a good feel for the product in question before writing it up. Sharing time on the water with a manufacturer so that we can get the full story of what a product was or was not intended to do under a variety of situations is how we gain insights into a product we might otherwise overlook.

Special thanks to Dean of Hi's Tackle Box for being our tour guide during a good day of fishing.

The Deep Six crankbait by Megabass was on the track for one of those long, drawn out review cycles because it had been a while since we were on a deep cranking type of bite. Thanks to Megabass of America and Hi's Tackle Box, we were able to turn that fortune around and bring you the story on what's become a very intriguing bait to us. The bait's only downfall is its price tag. When you can get the staple, Norman DD22 for $5.99, it's a little difficult to plunk down twenty plus dollars on a Deep Six. Then again, because this bait is so expensive, it's not likely the fish are going to see or hear a lot of them - unlike the more affordable alternatives. Otherwise, if the price doesn't scare you, tie one on, toss it out, and don't be fooled by the ease with which this bait cranks, because when it gets down into the target zone, it has the right shake, rattle, and roll to coax a big limit when you least expect it.